


Take a Good Look and Get Your Books Out

by Archetype_ElectraHeart



Series: Darcy Lewis: VP of the Bucky Barnes Defense Squad [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Darcy Lewis, Darcy serves up some Alex Cabot Realness to JAG, Darcy-centric, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-22 11:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7435122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archetype_ElectraHeart/pseuds/Archetype_ElectraHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Stark: Army lawyers are here trying to cause trouble re: Barnes. Get to conference rm 3360 STAT before Cap blows a gasket.</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Stark: I told them you’re our human rights consultant and to wait until you arrived.</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Lewis: Gimme 5 to put on big girl clothes. On my way.</em> </span>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take a Good Look and Get Your Books Out

**Author's Note:**

> [title from Rap for Rejection by Kate Nash]
> 
> I polished this up for "Canon in MCU Fix-It" Day of Darcyland Week, although this was originally drafted before Civil War was released, so it isn't exactly canon-compliant. Nonetheless, it deals with the government's possible response to Bucky/The Winter Soldier and lets Darcy save the day.
> 
> I think it will make more sense if you've read the first part of the series, but could probably be read on its own.

_Stark: Army lawyers are here trying to cause trouble re: Barnes. Get to conference rm 3360 STAT before Cap blows a gasket._

_Stark: I told them you’re our human rights consultant and to wait until you arrived._

_Lewis: Gimme 5 to put on big girl clothes. On my way._

 

Darcy quickly changed into the black skirt suit sitting in the back of her closet, jammed her feet into her most professional pair of heels and darted to the elevator, thanking JARVIS when it opened immediately and took her down to the 33rd floor. She applied red lipstick in the mirrored wall panels of the elevator in the hopes of distracting from her likely greasy roots and gave herself a mental pep talk as the elevator dropped.

 

By the time Darcy finally barged into the conference room, Steve was getting red in the face with righteous indignation and Tony looked all too ready to egg him on for the hell of it. She sighed internally before walking around to their side of the table, taking the open seat in between them. She took her time sitting down, unbuttoning her suit jacket and adjusting her glasses and doing her best to channel Natasha's unflappable energy. 

 

(Power Play #1: Make them wait.)

 

When she finally looked up, it was to two very stone-faced, very fit men. Luckily living with superheroes had rendered her relatively immune to the effects of a strong jawline.

“Gentlemen, sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Darcy Lewis.”

The man on the right spoke up, “Miss Lewis, I’m Captain Barnett and this is Captain Jenkins with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, US Army.”

“JAG." Darcy narrowed her eyes. There could be no good reason to send two JAG attorneys to parlay about James. "I can only assume that you're here about a court martial?”

Captain Barnett nodded. “It has been brought to the Army's attention that Sergeant Barnes has committed numerous crimes, including aiding the enemy. The Army is currently considering the possibility of pressing formal charges.”

Steve spluttered next to her, clearly about to lay into the lawyers, but Darcy put a hand on his forearm and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “I can handle this. Stand down.”

When Steve finally settled back into his seat, Darcy leaned forward to put her elbows on the table. “Do you mean to tell me that the US Army is considering pressing charges against Sergeant Barnes for actions that he committed while under duress as a prisoner of war?”

That got a little squirm out of Barnett. But it was Jenkins who spoke up this time. “There is no concrete evidence that Sergeant Barnes committed those acts while under duress. There is very little information about how he came to serve Hydra at all.”

Oh, Steve was positively vibrating with rage now, and Darcy’s voice was cold when she responded, “Gentlemen, I would urge you to do your due diligence before you spout that nonsense in public. There is plenty of evidence if you take the time to look for it, and I have.”

 

(Power Play #2: Make it clear you that have information they don’t. Establish the upper hand.)

 

Jenkins finally looked like his composure was slipping as he clipped out, “Miss Lewis, we are not prepared to bring charges at this time, but it was suggested that we warn your camp of the _possibility_ of a court martial as a courtesy.”

“Well then, Captain, allow me to return the favor and trust me when I say that you do not want to go down this road. Because I have done a lot of research into Sergeant Barnes’s case, and it could be very embarrassing for the Army if certain details were to be made public. For example, the fact that no search and rescue mission was launched after Barnes’s fall in 1945, and no effort was made, during or after the War, to recover his body from enemy territory. The Army, for all intents and purposes, left one of their own in the hands of Hydra with a callous disregard for his well-being. It is entirely possible that if you had done right by your man in 1945 that the Winter Soldier would never have existed.”

 

Steve was going to be wading in a cesspool of guilt for days after that little speech, but needs must. 

 

“As tragic as that is, Miss Lewis, it doesn’t change the fact that Sergeant Barnes acted against the interests of his own country. The Army may have failed Sergeant Barnes, but that was seventy years ago. The current administration can’t be held responsible for that.”

“Technically. But I have seen Sergeant Barnes’s service record and the really perplexing thing is that he is still, to this day, listed as Missing in Action. Now, of course he was listed that way in 1945, but where most files with an MIA designation are eventually changed to Presumed Dead, Barnes’s file was never updated. And you can’t exactly make the argument that it simply fell through the cracks—this is an American icon, one of the Howling Commandos, and the original archival version of that service record has been checked out numerous times by Army personnel, researchers, even the curators of the Smithsonian exhibition. Which only begs the question: is it possible that people in the Army knew that Sergeant Barnes was still alive, and indeed being held captive by enemy forces, all this time? And is it possible that certain factions within the army concealed that information so that Barnes could continue in his role as the Winter Soldier?”

“Miss Lewis, that is a ridiculous and completely unfounded accusation.”

Darcy leaned forward. “See, a few years ago, Captain, that might have been enough of a defense, but you saw what happened after the fall of SHIELD. The American public does not trust the government, and that very same mistrust is going to extend to the Armed Forces, and I promise you, Captain, that while you may dismiss me as a conspiracy theorist, I can be _very_ convincing.”

 

(Power Play #3: Convince them that you are a badass bitch from hell who won’t let anyone fuck with James Barnes, no matter the cost.)

 

“I am not Captain America—I don’t even work for Captain America—so I will not sit here and censor myself for the sake of patriotic duty or preserving the American way. The Army cannot afford another scandal of this magnitude after DADT, and the rape accusations, and Walter Reed. Rest assured, if you attempt to court martial Sergeant Barnes, I will drag the US Army through the mud for its clear lack of concern for its troops’ mental and physical well-being, using James as a poster-child for your incompetence. I will vilify you for dragging a traumatized and brainwashed prisoner of war into a court martial for actions that he committed while held captive by Nazis who tortured him mentally, emotionally, and physically." 

Darcy lowered her voice and fought to contain the violent beating of her heart. "By the time I am finished with you, your already record-low recruitment numbers will be in the tank, and I have no doubt that there will be a fresh wave of congressional hearings on the status of the VA, if not a new investigation into the Army’s possible ties to Hydra. So, I would advise you to go back to your superiors and explain to them, very carefully, the consequences of following through on this ill-advised course of action.” 

 

(Power Play #4: Having ensured you were the last to arrive, be the first to leave.)

 

Darcy gathered her StarkPad from the table and pushed her chair back. “Now, if that’s all?”

“Of course, Miss Lewis.”

“A pleasure, ma’am.”

She stood up and nodded to the JAG lawyers. “Good day, Captain Jenkins, Captain Barnett. Don’t take this personally, but I sincerely hope we don’t have cause to meet again. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

 

Darcy adopted her best ‘I’m Pepper Potts, and I’m in charge of the whole universe’ walk all the way to the elevators, which opened and closed promptly to give her a moment of privacy. She immediately slumped against the wall and keened in belated terror. “JARVIS can you stop the elevator for a few minutes?”

“ _Of course, Miss Darcy. Is there anything else you would like me to do? Your vital signs are currently elevated, indicating that you are under some stress._ ”

“I’m just having an adrenaline crash. Possibly a panic attack. Just give me a few minutes.”

“ _As you wish._ ”

Darcy let her knees give out and slid down to the floor, trying to take deeper breaths.

“ _If I may, Miss, I thought you were quite impressive in there_.”

Darcy hiccuped what might have been a laugh. “Really, J? You spied on my meeting with JAG?”

“ _Of course. We have put extensive work into making sure that Sergeant Barnes may transition smoothly into this new life. I wanted to be on hand should you need access to any of our data. But you handled them remarkably well. I would be happy to show you the tape when you are feeling better so you can see for yourself_.”

“I just need a minute to come down, J. I’m still at that stage where I can’t quite decide if I would rather cry or punch something.”

“ _There are punching bags available in the team gym, should you decide on that option_.”

Darcy smiled weakly towards the security camera. “You’re the governor, J.”

“ _As are you, Miss._ ”

 

***

 

By the time Darcy’s skin no longer felt stretched quite so tightly across her frame and the adrenaline had settled in her veins, Tony and Steve were waiting for her when the elevator opened onto the common floor.

 

“ _I do apologize, Miss Darcy. I had suggested that they leave you alone until you were ready for company._ ”

“I can’t believe my own AI just sold me out like that. He never used to play favorites like this, you know, you’ve corrupted him.”

“Tony, I can’t help it if your AI likes me better than he likes you.” Darcy shrugged out of her suit jacket and toed off her heels, before starting towards the kitchen. “I’m going to make myself a cup of tea, you boys want one?”

“Leaf water? I’ll most definitely be passing on that, Lewis.”

She could hear the muffled thump of Steve punching Tony in the arm and the implied reprimand in his, “No, Darcy, but thank you for offering.”

 

She put the kettle on and rummaged through the cabinet for her brand of tea, dropping a tea bag into her favorite mug before turning to face Tony and Steve, who had pulled up stools to the breakfast bar.

“Steve, I’m sorry if I made it sound like you abandoned James after his fall—I needed some kind of leverage to make them nervous-"

Steve shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize, Darcy. Tony and I brought you in because we knew that you would do whatever it took to protect Bucky. You did a fine job.”

Darcy snorted. “I’m an intern with a Bachelor’s degree and I just threatened to start a PR war with the United States Army. I basically just _blackmailed_ the fucking US Army. I may or may not have bought a little too heavily into my own act.”

Tony immediately argued, “Are you kidding me, Lewis? You were awesome in there—have you been getting lessons from Natasha in striking terror in the hearts of men? It was very effective.”

“No, that was almost certainly the result of too much Law and Order—when I was younger I aspired to be the brunette Alex Cabot. If Rafael Barba had been the SVU ADA when I was still in undergrad I may have never quit pre-law. Dude is badass.”

Steve furrowed his brow. “I definitely do not understand anything you just said.”

Darcy waved a hand dismissively. “Basically, in a former life, I aspired to be a badass lawyer fighting for truth and justice in America’s courtrooms. Now I am science wrangler fighting for truth and justice for a serum-enhanced prisoner of war. Narrower focus, but I didn’t have to suffer through three years of law school, so who’s the real champion in this situation?”

When neither Steve nor Tony responded, but simply blinked at her, Darcy sighed. “Me, boys. It’s me. I’m the champion.”

She picked up her mug of tea and started towards her room. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to change out of this Corporate Barbie outfit before I get hives. Toodles!”

**Author's Note:**

> photoset is [here](https://pepperpottsblogs.tumblr.com/post/147494660330/take-a-good-look-and-get-your-books-out-stark) on tumblr!


End file.
